Tokyo DisneySea High 5!

I was not able to convince Jason to go to the Tokyo Disney Resort while we were in Japan :( He was too Disney’d out! How is that possible I ask?! A Disney cruise, then a couple days at Disneyland and California Adventure are too much??!!!! He’s crazy I say, crazy! There is never too much in my opinion! ha ha! Fortunately, we did visit Disney last year when we were in Japan with my mom, so I can still tell you all about it!

 

First, a little bit of history (I’ll make it short and interesting). Tokyo Disney opened in 1983, and was the first Disney park outside of the US. This park is owned and operated by the Oriental Land Company with a license from the Walt Disney Company who was not ready for the international scene at the time. I was curious as to how a country the size of Japan could support a Disney, but Japan has a population of approximately 127 million with 35 million of them living in Tokyo (the US has 313 million, while Canada is about 35 million). The Japanese are also VERY enthusiastic about Disney to the point where a lot of adults will adorn themselves with Disney paraphernalia (it is super cute), thus a perfect combination to make it a success!

 

Say "cheese!"

Tokyo’s Disney Resort is comprised of two parks, Disneyland and DisneySea. Disneyland in general is the same around the world. I opted to go to the DisneySea side as it is the only one in the world and boy, was it amazing! This is the park that really made Jason say, “hey, I get the Disney thing!”. There is not a lot of english information on the park, I could only find one book. Get the book if you are going to visit for a few days, otherwise save your money.

Do NOT miss the Legend of Mythica show!

Very good theme park food...with service!

Following is my review that I wrote for Tripadvisor.com following our visit (user name moovstr):

Title - Love, Love, Love it!
Date - April 23, 2012
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g298162-d320639-r128490823-Tokyo_DisneySea-Urayasu_Chiba_Prefecture_Kanto.html

In short, we would highly recommend it!

~Christine



Other information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Disney_Resort
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan

Tokyo, Trains, People and Traffic.

Video (I apologize in advance for some rushed editing and minor compression related artifacts):



Music: Faye Wong cover of the Cranberries' "Dreams"

7-Eleven

Convenience stores are big business in Japan, and you will find them everywhere! How convenient!  There are about 3 or 4 different chains, with 7-Eleven probably the most popular. Of course, we had to check them out and boy are they fun! Like home, people will go there for a bottle of water or something to eat, but the variety and selection here is incredible! You can get alcohol, meals, ice cream, snacks, desserts, etc. It is like a mini-grocery store and prices are not that bad. On nights we didn’t feel like a full meal, we would find ourselves over there looking for something to eat...and it is pretty good!

 Salads, rice, noodles, meals, etc.

 More meals, rice, etc.

 Jason's dinner - no crust sandwich, meat & cheese, and $2 sake!

 My dinner - salad and for dessert, a fruit sandwich....soooo good!

 Japan loves Mickey! Tiramisu from 7-Eleven! I am not kidding!

Could not get the courage to try this - spaghetti hotdog

I just learned that 7-Eleven started out in the US, but is now Japanese owned! No wonder they are everywhere in Asia!

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/07/30/business/7-eleven-wizard-80-to-take-on-u-s/#.UkAZ9LyJJYk

-Christine

Hachikō

The story of Hachikō is very popular in Japan, and a Hollywood movie based on it was made starring Richard Gere.

In the 1920s a Japanese professor adopted Hachikō an Akita dog. Each day he would take the train from the Shibuya station in Tokyo to work. And every evening around the time the professor would return, Hachikō would be waiting at the train station for him. One day, the professor does not return home as he suddenly dies. For the next nine years following, Hachikō returns to the Shibuya station to await the return of his owner.

A statue sits near the spot where Hachikō waited each and every day.

-Christine

For more info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hachik%C5%8D